Tay K: A Nationwide Manhunt and Art Imitating Life

The Arlington, Texas rapper was involved in two killings by the time he was seventeen. Arrested on murder charges and placed under house arrest until hearings were to take place, Tay-K sawed off his ankle bracelet and announced to the world via Twitter that he was going out on the run. He made it from Texas all the way to New Jersey where he recorded his most infamous song, “The Race”, detailing his time on the lam. The song’s lyrics and video blurred real life and art and quickly went viral garnering over 100 million downloads. It also worked as a set of clues for authorities to use to piece together the young fugitive’s whereabouts. The viral nature of the song and video, the ensuing twitter phenomenon and infamy surrounding the young fugitive also caused tipsters to come out in droves and eventually led to Tay-K’s arrest.

*illustration by Avi Spivak @avispivak

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Jerry Lee Lewis’ 5th wife? Dead. Sam Cooke 3AM in a seedy motel? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Dead. Why? Because musicians are crazy. Because insane things happen to them. Because we love them. And because we let them get away with it.